We ordered Painted Lady butterflies from monarchbutterflies.ca earlier this month for the centre. They came as caterpillars in individual containers containing an artificial diet, they also came with a mesh cage and Indigenous prayer. They lived in our office until they went into their Pupa stage meaning they’re ready to live in their cage until they hatched. We had our first butterfly party on June 20th where the members and some of our staff learned about the life of Painted Ladies, then we transported the soon-to-be butterflies into their new home, and our members decorated the space! The members of Spencer House were very intrigued during the whole process, as was I! It was amusing to check on their growth everyday and watch the entire process. On June 29 the butterflies were finally ready to be released! Kids from the upstairs daycare joined us for the exciting event. One of our lovely members Muriel (shown in the photo) read the Indigenous prayer for us all before the butterflies flew out of the cage one by one. This was thoroughly enjoyed by us all. Check out our Facebook page for more photos!
